Sunday 30 August 2015
- Bible Book:
- Mark
“Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.” (vv. 18-21)
Psalm: Psalm 15
Background
In this passage Jesus is in conflict with thePharisees (again), this time about ritual handwashing. At firstsight he makes a point which seems quite obvious to us, you cannotmake yourself good by concentrating on only external things, whatmatters is what comes from the inside. So far, so good. But then hemakes the contrast in verses 18-23 between what enters the stomachand comes from the heart. Suddenly the bar seems high - it is,after all, much easier to watch what you eat then it is to controlyour feelings. Is Jesus really saying, that when I wake up grumpy,when I cannot get a certain person out of my head (even though I amcommitted to someone else) when I am jealous of another's success,I have failed already?
But Jesus was not using heart the way we do. Ournotion is that you think with your head and feel with your heart.The ancient world made different assumptions. In Jesus' day peopleassumed that you felt with bowels (think what happens when you getnervous) but made your decisions with heart. That is why the OldTestament is full of appeals to follow God with all your heart (eg1Samuel 12:20). Jesus did not intend to direct our attention toour feelings. He wanted us to think instead, about our concretedecisions in life and how our actions affect other people. It isworth examining the list in verses 21-22 again and think about howhuman life is distorted if our actions are ruled by the things thatJesus gives as examples.
The temptation of the Pharisees was to focus toomuch on ritual action in their relationship with God. But is ourmodern day temptation that we focus too much on our feelings, as ifGod is only concerned with our inner purity not with how we treatother people?
To Ponder
- What do you think are our modern temptations in ourrelationship with God? In other words, are there areas on which weconcentrate too much whilst ignoring what God is really asking usto do?
- We are all different. Are you led mainly by reason, feelings orsomething else? Take some time to ponder how that affects yourrelationship with God and with others.